Exquisite beauty can induce trouble and misery. Such was the experience of the charming nymph Callisto who was pursued by the enamoured Jupiter himself. The Italian composer Francesco Cavalli together with his librettist Faustini made the amorous tortures of the nymph into an opera, expanding the original story with new plots and comic scenes in the style of commedia dell’arte. Jana Semerádová and her Collegium Marianum ensemble united their strength with the Buchty a loutky (Cakes and Puppets) marionette company, in order to revive the story of Callisto with all its comical and emotional aspects. The protagonists were the illustrious Hana Blažíková (as Callisto), and Tomáš Král (as Jupiter).

The Bear Who Likes to Play with PuppetsOpera PLUS, 7. 8. 2015, David ChaloupkaOne just has to admire the artistry of the members of the Buchty a loutky company, their ability to ease the atmosphere of the scenes almost to the point of travesty and to use up with great elegance all the double entendres in the libretto. On the top of all this, they still managed to squeeze in a few ballet numbers, including a bear dance. This approach is quite appropriate in terms of theatre aesthetics and dramaturgy, if we remind ourselves of the fact that the history of puppet theatre dates back almost three and a half centuries.

The excellent soprano Hana Blažíková endowed Calisto with not only vocal surety but also great lyricism and captivating spontaneity which are characteristic of great many mythological and fairy-tale heroines.